Saturday, January 14, 2012

By way of background: Introduced in 1938 - almost 65 years ago - Necco's Sky Bar ( Skybar ) was the first candy to mold chocolate around four separate fillings: caramel, vanilla, peanut and fudge. The candy was a successor entry from Necco brands, whose offerings go all the way back to Necco Wafers in 1847. The overall complexion of Sky Bar ( Skybar ) flavors and molding really hasn't changed over the decades.

For the word geeks among us, the candy name is schizophrenically poised between "Sky Bar" and "Skybar". Although Necco seems to have the registered trademark against the "Skybar" version, its own official web page for the product shows both forms. On the package labeling, there is a clear separation between the "SKY" and the "BAR", so we'll go with that form for the balance of this review.

To geek out even more, "Necco" itself stands for the New England Confectionary Company and is often referred to as "NECCO" by the company itself. However, again there is inconsistency. The package labeling shows a definite "Necco" labeling; the company profile web page uses "NECCO"; and yet at the bottom of the profile page is "About Necco". Go figure.

Enough trivia - let's move to the tasting!

Color: The four Sky Bar briquettes are of consistent color - light, medium brown, with Fudge being just a bit darker.

Aromatics: Soft, almost marshmallowy milk chocolate.

On the palate: These were tasted at room temperature, with hot black coffee used as a palate cleanser between tastes.